Coffee Harvest Grows, Exports Decrease

Costa Rica’s coffee harvest for the 2006-2007 season is expected to be 2% larger than the previous season’s harvest; however, exports of coffee during the first seven months of this year have fallen 3%, according to the National Coffee Institute (ICAFE).

Last year’s harvest produced approximately 2.3 million 46-kilogram sacks of coffee, and this year’s harvest is expected to yield about 60,000 sacks more.

However, during the first seven months of this year, coffee exports reached $185 million, a 3% decrease over the $190 million exported in 2005, according to the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER).

Last year coffee exports reached $230 million, a 15.5% increase over the $199 million sold in 2004.